ELIZABETH HAMILTON (TAFFY) HAYNES

Honored By

Taffy (Elizabeth) Hamilton, the youngest of eight children, was born December 21, 1925 in Steger, Illinois. She was the daughter of Calvin Dean Hamilton and Lucinda Worley Hamilton. Her family moved westward in stages and finally settled in Southern California. As a young woman, Taffy moved to New York City, where she worked at Macy’s. During World War II she enlisted in the Army and served as a code breaker stationed in California. She then moved to Fairbanks, AK working for the Air Force as a Civil Service employee, and there she met and married C. Vance Haynes, Jr. In 1955, their daughter Lisa (Elizabeth) Anne was born in Denver, CO.

Taffy supported her family as a consummate homemaker, as well as a breadwinner in various positions in government and academia. After attending University of Arizona in the late 1960s, she received her BA in Journalism from Southern Methodist University in 1970. Throughout her life she engaged in artistic pursuits including theater, writing, dance, painting, sculpture, and pottery.

Taffy was tremendously loving, caring, and generous. At the same time she was fiercely independent, and she surmounted many barriers for women of her generation and upbringing. She actively supported women’s rights and she persevered on her own path despite persistent obstacles. She paved the way and created opportunities for her daughter and the next generation of women. Taffy was truly a loving, creative, and intellectual force, and the world and the people she loved are the beneficiaries of her remarkable gifts.

Donor names:

Lisa Haynes

Date submitted: October 24, 2006

Gift: Brick Paver - small

Location on plaza map:

Taffy (Elizabeth) Hamilton, the youngest of eight children, was born December 21, 1925 in Steger, Illinois. She was the daughter of Calvin Dean Hamilton and Lucinda Worley Hamilton. Her family moved westward in stages and finally settled in Southern California. As a young woman, Taffy moved to New York City, where she worked at Macy’s. During World War II she enlisted in the Army and served as a code breaker stationed in California. She then moved to Fairbanks, AK working for the Air Force as a Civil Service employee, and there she met and married C. Vance Haynes, Jr. In 1955, their daughter Lisa (Elizabeth) Anne was born in Denver, CO.

Taffy supported her family as a consummate homemaker, as well as a breadwinner in various positions in government and academia. After attending University of Arizona in the late 1960s, she received her BA in Journalism from Southern Methodist University in 1970. Throughout her life she engaged in artistic pursuits including theater, writing, dance, painting, sculpture, and pottery.

Taffy was tremendously loving, caring, and generous. At the same time she was fiercely independent, and she surmounted many barriers for women of her generation and upbringing. She actively supported women’s rights and she persevered on her own path despite persistent obstacles. She paved the way and created opportunities for her daughter and the next generation of women. Taffy was truly a loving, creative, and intellectual force, and the world and the people she loved are the beneficiaries of her remarkable gifts.